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> LD_LIBRARY_PATH, which explains why you should never be using this variable

That's not what he said, read again. There are still legitimate uses for LD_LIBRARY_PATH (and its moral equivalents, not all platforms call it that). For example, Perl's build process uses that for a very good reason.

When I said "you" should never be using this variable, I meant the average person reading what I was writing.:) People who've done heavy hacking on Perl's build process have a high probability of running into the legitimate use cases for it, and I knew that.:)

Basically, if the developers of a package do their job right, and know what LD_LIBRARY_PATH is for and what it is not for, the end user should almost never, ever have to use it. If I purchase a huge commercial package like, say, Oracle, and have

--J. David works really hard, has a passion for writing good software, and knows many of the world's best Perl programmers

I've always wondered why some versions of Oracle had it set to something and others didn't. I don't recall needing it for 10.1.0.3 but during the 10.2.0.x installation it gets set. Now that I think about it, it may just been the DBAs that tweaked our installation scripts.

Let me also amplify that not only should a user never set LD_LIBRARY_PATH, it should never be set for him.

LD_LIBRARY_PATH is a developer-only variable. It's a test-time option, not a run-time option. Unfortunately due to many developers who don't know what they're doing, it becomes a necessary run-time option for some apps. But even then it should only be used as a method of last resort to get them running!

--J. David works really hard, has a passion for writing good software, and knows many of the world's best Perl programmers